Hello,
I have had a Topaz puffer for around 6 months and he has been fantastic. He is always hungry and is a bundle of energy. However, in the last week he has been very lethargic and can't even be bothered to chase the shrimp in his tank. He seems depressed and spends the whole time lying on the sand. He will take shell-less cockle however. I am unsure as to what could be wrong with him (if anything) and what to do.
1) I had my water tested at my local shop and it was perfect. Salinity is a little low, but nothing drastic.
2) 30 Gallon tank and he is alone
3) Feeding on live river shrimp,live crab, frozen cockle (in shell and without), snails and mussle. Water change is around 3 gallons every 5 days, however recently changed 6 gallons all in one go.
4) Only change is the larger than usual water change
5) Aquarium has been set up around 8 months and has been brackish the whole time.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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crazedpuffer
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
Does it look like he has internal parasites?
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manutius
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
I think if it were IP then after 6 months it would have been picked up by now?
The other things to look at are temperature and the possibility that your puffer doesn't need as much food as he used to. Once they get to a certain size and their growth rate begins to slow they need less food. I would reduce the feeding to every third day or so. How often do you feed him?
The other things to look at are temperature and the possibility that your puffer doesn't need as much food as he used to. Once they get to a certain size and their growth rate begins to slow they need less food. I would reduce the feeding to every third day or so. How often do you feed him?
Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
Hi guys,
Thanks for the quick responses. He doesnt APPEAR to have anything wrong with him, except for the lethargy. I do have some treatment, but I am reluctant to use it unless absolutely necessary. With regards to feeding, he gets fed every other day, but occasionally successive days. Is it really something as simple as that?
Regards,
Luke
Thanks for the quick responses. He doesnt APPEAR to have anything wrong with him, except for the lethargy. I do have some treatment, but I am reluctant to use it unless absolutely necessary. With regards to feeding, he gets fed every other day, but occasionally successive days. Is it really something as simple as that?
Regards,
Luke
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Nick
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
What are your actual numbers for nitrate, and how large is your puffer?
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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mikeosoft
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
IMO you should be doing much larger water changes. I would do at least 15 gallons every 5 days on a tank that size with a ceylon. If it was full marine and you had a good skimmer then you might get away with changing less water, but that's not very much water volume, so perhaps not.
What is the salinity in the tank?
Do you have specific readings on ammonia/nitrite/nitrate?
What is the salinity in the tank?
Do you have specific readings on ammonia/nitrite/nitrate?
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
Not that I'm saying he has them but animals can live with IPs for a very long time (months) before subcumming to them.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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t1gerbee
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
definitely post your actual readings, do some more now...
I'm thinking if they only thing that's changed is a larger than usual water change, and now the salinity is on the low side, maybe it dropped by over 0.002 and has knocked/damaged cycling bacteria... causing an ammonia spike, and subsequent spikes...
?
I'm thinking if they only thing that's changed is a larger than usual water change, and now the salinity is on the low side, maybe it dropped by over 0.002 and has knocked/damaged cycling bacteria... causing an ammonia spike, and subsequent spikes...
?
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
I am afriad that I dont have the readings as I took them to my local fish shop and they tested it for me. They said that the water quality was perfect except for a slightly low salinity. I was informed that I could treat him for internal fungus, even if he does not have any? Is this correct? Otherwsie I am at a loss - as the water conditions have been consistent for months.
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Nick
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
These are a high brackish fish when older, so perhaps fixing the slightly low SG is the first step. Do an extra water change, and bump your SG up by about .002.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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t1gerbee
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
what the local fish shop class as perfect and what is correct for a puffer MAY be too different things... if you can get them again that would be great...
.. in the mean time, use a refractor/hydrometer to do big water changes and keep the salinity within a 0.002 range of where it is now, raising it slowly..
.. in the mean time, use a refractor/hydrometer to do big water changes and keep the salinity within a 0.002 range of where it is now, raising it slowly..
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
Thanks guys - I will try to raise the salinity slowly. He is still off his food, even half dead shrimp.
On closer inspection, he has very small raised bumps on his skin. They are very small and hard to spot, so I am unsure as to whether they are present the whole time or not. Can anyone shed any light on this or am I just being paranoid?
On closer inspection, he has very small raised bumps on his skin. They are very small and hard to spot, so I am unsure as to whether they are present the whole time or not. Can anyone shed any light on this or am I just being paranoid?
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t1gerbee
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
often these are just tiny spines... my topaz (ceylon right?) puffer has them...
can you see any spots on his fins? tail?
can you see any spots on his fins? tail?
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
No - nothing on his tail or fins.............
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Poorly Topaz. Please help!!!!
The fact that the shop even said the words, "internal fungus", makes me wonder greatly about them.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"